Her noseship Goldsworthy said something similar if I recall correctly.

Come the revolution, I hope the locals remember to put her head on a stick.

(She'd probably try to put that on her expenses as well)

stuey thats the best rant you have done for a long time :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

No Probs Ty. The only offence being taken here is the one being launched by the white shirts at Heartlands, against a community that has known mining for centuries.
Talk about teaching granny to suck eggs........ :curse:

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The problem is that the people behind it think they are doing the most fantastic job in all respects and with enough pats on the back from each other will perhaps, funding dependent give them enough gusto to go and affect some other historical place in the name of regeneration and development.

I find that big sign "Pool is the future" the most irritating of all.

"Celebrating dynamic superness, Pool will embrace creativity and go off like fireworks".

(aka:- Pool will be turned into a big Midas estate of lego boxes with a couple of irritating buildings which got in the way of the barracks design)

The person/s responsible should be publicly kicked.

are they the same sort of lego boxes built at Holmans ?

I noted a sign bearing the phrase "cultural candy" referring to the heartlands project today.

Is that what they used on the midas boxes, instead of expanding foam and no-more-nails?

seen today that you can have a paddle in the red river (the new one that midis built)

are they the same sort of lego boxes built at Holmans ?

At least people can live in them. I think some consideration has to be given to current problems as well as the industrial heritage nonsense.

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The bottom line is that builders make a fortune on the boxes which they build. They are made out of crap and they look and last poorly.

Considering the markup is such, there should be quality built into the planning. Otherwise you are creating a future eyesore/ghetto.

This is most typified by the Persimmon Ghetto which is shaping up nicely near Truro tennis club. 2 years in and it's already looking shabby.

I have no doubt that the council is merely a facilitating club for these types, rather than acting in the best reasonable interests of the local population....

I'd rather Cornwall wasn't fucked up in the self-interests of Mr Midas and his RDA (hang on, I thought they were getting axed) chums pontificating over Cultural Candy and stainless steel sundials and sustainable development windmill bollocks in the name of the local community (his wallet).

It's the planners prerogative to act in the best interests of the area, the shyte that I see being erected is short termism at it's worst.

However, I appreciate that you cannot change things, short of bombing the bastards!

I have to admit that I'm no fan of Camborne and never was; but the actual driving centre of the local economy tends to be a bit of a dump, because work gets done there and work isn't usually pretty. Whatever might be said about Camborne in the 70s, there was money to be made there. Unfortunately it seems to have gone the way that many of these places do, lost the second part and kept the first one.

I thought then, and still think, that the revival of "Cornishness" in the 80s onwards has done more harm than good, made people inward looking when they need the opposite.

I've always thought that Cousin Jack missed a huge opportunity in Aberdeen in the 70s. Cousin Jack could have prospered offshore, been just the sort of man they wanted... but he turned his back on it. Look at Seacore at Gweek for THAT one.

Actually I still see "Cousin Jacks" on my travels, from the CSM graduates who moved straight into good jobs from Coombe Down to the Tolvaddon-born bosun on a Dutch dredger I met in Russia in 2010, or the rugby coach at my son's club who moved to East Anglia because he worked for a quarrying company.

I do tend to be pretty dismissive of the whole "Spika-da-Kernow and wear a kilt" thing, but really it's only Carnkie's point in a different wrapper. It's just that my idea of "Cousin Jack" is different to that.

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Had a leaflet through the door which plugged all the features, my 5 yr old son looked at the adventure playground briefly and then the picture of the Engine house and asked "does it work?" ...says it all really...

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well, does it work?

Last time I was there ( a trip to the engine house organised by CSM in, I think, 1976 ) we were told that the engine was in the condition it had last worked, but it was thought to be too dangerous to steam the ancient boiler and the pitwork was partly disconnected and secured, so the bob could not be moved, quite apart from the obvious reasons for not conducting such an experiment on a working mine.

Heartlands and English Heritage websites are ambiguous on the matter but as far as I can tell, it is still in the same condition apart from the pitwork, is that so?

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Maybe I am wrong: Article publish on 27.1.12

http://www.heartlandscornwall.com/downloads/91.pdf 

Heartlands will open as a FREE visitor attraction, World Heritage Site and community hub in Spring 2012. The 19 acre site will include:
• World Heritage Site exhibitions and Shop
• Iconic Cornish Engine House complete with restored 80” beam engine

So should I expect a fully steaming beam engine? The blurb doesn't really elaborate on this....

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It will use a load of coal, therefore having one of those awful carbon footprint things.

No chance.

From what I could see the external tubing beneath the bob was pretty hanging. I assume this is critical to the operating of the engine. I'd be curious to know hat would be required to get it "in balance".

OR get 200kW of solar panels to power an electric boiler and wait for a sunny day...

A "restored" engine would normally mean one that works...

Guessing it will compressed air on special occasions then? But from what the guys from East Pool have said is that you need experience and some luck to get a beam engine moving once stopped, with everything balanced and lubricated.

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There was much flap and panic in the 90's and early 00's about taking people to see the engine due to the amount of asbestos lagging around the cylinder and associated steam feed pipes.
the next thing I know is that the heartless project is to restore it to working condition and have it in steam. This was prior to the collapse of just about everything globally. So the next i hear is that they needed volunteers to scrub, clean and get the engine looking pretty.
I believe that that is as far as it will go. To get it into steam would cost an arm and leg from everyone in Camborne and Redruth. To get it running on compressed air would be cheaper but would still necessitate the piston and cylinder being taken apart for cleaning. The rings are probably rusted to the walls of the cylinder which means a major refurb job.
The easiest engine for them to get running is the old twin cylinder horizontal winding engine which was still being used by Crofty for shaft maintenance when the mine was running.
It ran on compressed air and was very controllable, hence its preference for shaft work. When I last saw it, just prior to site work starting, it was all in free turning condition and the reversing gear and speed control was well lubricated and smoothly operating.
The two photos here do not really do it justice. I only had my P&S digital and the room in which it sits is very small. The flywheel must weigh somewhere in the region of 2 tons (1.5 min) and there is not one spot of rust anywhere on it. For an engine built in 1882 I don’t think that’s bad going.
Here’s hoping they do something with it, maybe winch children up the headframe? :lol:
🔗Personal-Album-342-Image-73703[linkphoto]Personal-Album-342-Image-73703[/linkphoto][/link]

🔗Personal-Album-342-Image-73702[linkphoto]Personal-Album-342-Image-73702[/linkphoto][/link]

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most lightly painted green red and black now! :curse:

Some interesting info, albeit from last year:

http://www.heartlandscornwall.com/heartlands-latest/post.php?id=8135696243232856916 

Sounds like if anyone wants to get it working, they are welcome to come and help try....although the heartlands blogs have gone quiet about this since last July.

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To get that engine running again whether it be under steam or compressed air would require a massive investment. I spent two days there about twenty years ago inspecting it. Roy is quite right to point out the obvious things to be done such as piston rings and cylinder, but it doesn't end there. For a start the spring beams are shot, that would require the lifting of the beam for their renewal, the eduction pipe is cracked in half. the cataract has been damaged as a result of the floor rotting away, and also all other floors are suspect. It would require quite a few lengths of pump rod to take the engine outdoors also the condenser and air pump etc. need major overhaul.
It would be far easier (if that is the right word) to get the 90" at East Pool back to working order but even then it would require a massive investment which visitor numbers just don't support, let alone the running cost
If these engines were situated in or near large cities such as London or Birmingham, such a project may stand a chance, but to rely on less than 10% of the bucket and spade brigade it's a none starter I'm afraid.

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Anyone on this site part of the group who restored Levant?
Surely they would have been the people to consult (trevithick soc) about the restoration, cost etc?

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